Chapter 64: Chapter 64

× A year later ×

“Hey. How you been?”

“Hi. It's me. Joss.”

“Fancy a cup of coffee this weekend? Just a quick catch-up.”

“Old time's sake?”

“I know it's you and you’re reading my messages. Let's meet up. I just wanna talk.”

“Whenever possible.”

“Free to meet up this week? Or the next? Call me back.”

“Jess?  It's Jenson.”

“I’m not gonna stop til you reply.”

“Just wanna catch up. Please.”

“Stop hiding from me, Jessiah. Let's talk.”

×

11 unanswered messages.

22 ignored calls.

Then she blocked him. Again. He wasn't even the least bit drunk the last time he rang her new number ten times in a row. Jenson scrolled through his messages as he sat behind the wheel, seat belt still buckled, cap and face mask on, engine still humming and running. Like his restless thoughts all day. All night. All damn week.

Lately he couldn't even get five hours of sleep. His overworked, overanxious brain just wouldn't let him. It was getting progressively worse every day. The pesky migraines were back, too. Then he found out this morning that he lost his passport at some point during the trip.

"Way to top off the week, Roiz..." He squeezed his eyes shut when a piercing pain shot through his skull. He tilted his head back, mumbling expletives while massaging his throbbing head with his fist.

Traveling within state borders remained limited, but with their clan's contacts, the trip wasn't such a hassle. It helped that he already got vaccinated a month ago. Perhaps Jessiah and her parents, too, since vaccine rollout was doing well all over the country.

After frantically popping another pill, Jenson waited in agony and took deep breaths until the blinding aches eventually subsided. It was her fault. Mostly. Just thinking of her face was enough to rob him of hours of precious sleep.

Heck. He wouldn't even be here in this city if he hadn't met her uncle, Pete Kinley, also a Hollywood producer. With Darren's help, Jenson managed to schedule a meeting with the uncle.

Then Pete said she's now living in Raleigh with her parents. Not Minnesota. Thanks to the guy, Jenson finally got her new phone number. Only after a few lies, that is. He'd made up a story about an uncashed paycheck just to get Jessi's new number.

The lying felt necessary. He just had to. Using the number, his hacker contact searched for her new residence and located her soon enough. It didn't take a day. Jessiah had been pretty careful with her digital and online trails, but like everyone else, she couldn't keep her new day-to-day life a top secret.

As his dwindling patience endured the waiting game, Jenson looked out the window to check the supermarket entrance again.

Still no sign of her. The hacker said she worked as the shift manager here, right after moving to Raleigh. Why didn't Jessi mention her parents had plans to move out of Minnesota? Or was it all her plan?

Her social media had been deactivated last year, too. It shocked him, to say the least, since her posts online were basically her professional portfolios. Meaning: she wasn't modeling anymore, or working as a freelance or full-time makeup artist.

What made her quit both? And now she's suddenly working in retail? Why?

Jenson couldn't stop scowling. Maybe she thought whatever happened to her was none of his business. Or she just didn't trust him anymore. Or she thought he no longer cared about her after she left Hollywood.

All could be true, and the mere thought just upset him further. Did she hate him now? He gripped the steering wheel, focusing his attention on the glass doors. The place didn't look busy. He wouldn't have a hard time spotting her among a crowd, even with a mask on, and even with her new hairstyle. He was all caught up.

Just yesterday, the hacker sent two recent videos of her.

He already knew what to expect. While his shoe tapped repeatedly on the floor mat under the wheel, Jenson glimpsed his quiet phone. Not a single message. She definitely read his texts before blocking him. She didn't even bother to reply once.

Most nights, it felt as if she suddenly moved out of her hometown and changed her number to deliberately hide from him. Why else would she avoid him to this extent?

His deep-seated guilt had come to a conclusion during the long and lonely drive, but he needed at least one definitive explanation from her. Or any kind of tangible proof that she was actually living a completely different life now.

His frazzled brain couldn't help but make up reasons for her elusive behavior. Did she really feel threatened by their past? Did she seriously think he was someone who would ruin or endanger her life?

"She's moved on, man. She just wants a simpler, quiet life now..." Kel's faint voice echoed in his thoughts as he kept staring at the supermarket entrance till his vision blurred.

Jessi living with a new guy and raising her own family? Not that impossible. But he just had to see it with his own eyes. He needed to hear straight from her mouth how it all happened.

Maybe the hacker got it all wrong. Maybe those birth certificates were erroneous or inaccurately filed. Maybe those records weren't even real.

"Pray on it," Jenson muttered to himself while he sat in the dark, all alone in the SUV, practically stalking someone he hadn't seen in years. He just had to see her again.

×

× 9:19PM ×

It was definitely her. She just walked out of the store.

Alone. Dark pants. Gym shoes. Gray hoodie with a cap and face mask covering half of her small face.

Her hair looked blonde. Short and pale blonde. Maybe platinum?

She looked so different now. Almost as if, moving to a new place pushed her to take on a new look and a brand new personality.

With her phone stuck on her ear, she flung some furtive glances around her before rushing towards the silver sedan parked three slots away from where he was, just waiting and hiding. The dim parking lot remained quiet, save for some intermittent traffic noises coming from the roadside and her giggly voice overshadowing her dull footsteps.

She put the paper bag full of groceries in the backseat, then started her car while talking on the phone in an unusually sweet and consoling tone. It definitely sounded like cooing.

Baby talk, he realized soon enough.

"Aww. I know, loves. I'm sorry..." Jessi sighed audibly. "Mama's gonna be home in five minutes. Okay? Tell Pops and Mimi I'm on my way."

Mama? Shit. So she really was a mom now. His jaw and teeth clenched at the thought. Who was the new guy? Who got her pregnant with two kids? The father's name had been left blank on the birth certificates the hacker had sent.

Growing tenser by the minute, Jenson rolled his window all the way down to get a better look at her left hand.

She wore a ring now, on the finger where an engagement or a wedding ring would be.

Was her new guy at home? Waiting for her with the kids? Who was "Pops" and "Mimi"? The babysitter? Or was she talking about her parents?

"Yeah. I bought lotsa broccoli, watermelon, biscuits, and bananas. Your favorites," Jessi went on, still busy on the phone and laughing about something, totally oblivious as he carefully stepped out of his vehicle. "Where's your sister? Oh, Eri's watching TV with Mimi? Okay, baby. Okay. I'm sorry you had to wait. Sit tight. Mama's going home now."

×

- Jessiah (new) -

"Sorry. I think you got the wrong number. Please stop texting and calling this number."

Received 21:27

Wrong number?  Sorry wrong number?

Seriously?  That's the best she could do?

Pure annoyance boomeranged in his aching head as he stared at the thin white letters on the screen, glaring at the steaming pile of bullshit he just read.

"You've gotta be kiddin' me..." Jenson muttered under his breath.  He shook his head weakly, restraining himself from hurling the useless phone onto the ground till it split into pieces.

For hours on end, he waited and waited.  Not even a single text from her.

Until now.  And a stupid lie was all she had to say?  After all this time?

Then her shoulders started trembling.  It was almost subtle, but it didn't stop and he was all eyes on her. Seconds later, she tossed her cap onto the passenger seat.  Now her pale hands clutched the top of the steering wheel.  While her shoulders shook uncontrollably, she hit her forehead against the wheel several times.

Her muffled sobs forced him to back away from her car.   Something in his chest ached.  He swore under his breath, baffled and dithering, quietly watching her crying as he stood behind the bumper.  The keen urge to confront her taunted his temper, but seeing and hearing her sobbing alone in her car in the dark stopped him from making another move.

Why was she so emotional?  Something just triggered an outburst all of a sudden.   Fear?  Crippling anxiety?

His tentative steps led him back to his vehicle while his logic struggled to come up with reasons.  Why would she be afraid of seeing him again?

Before he could figure out what to do next, she stepped on the gas and just drove out of the parking lot.  Her emotions just overwhelmed her that she didn't even notice the stranger standing right behind her car.

A "full-blown stalker" seemed more appropriate but he had valid reasons.  Lots of reasons.  Some might convince her, and some might not make a lick of sense to her, but he didn't really care.  Jenson rushed back into the driver's seat.

Utter confusion only incensed the anticipation that  constricted and built up in his chest.  It grappled his thoughts in an unhealthy way, but he couldn't stop now.  He finally found her.  Time to get some answers.

As surreptitiously as he could, he followed her car as she drove into the suburbs and parked in front of a big two-storey house.  Pale gray and white paint.  Metal fences.  Wide lot.  A neat grass-covered lawn.

He stayed on the other side of the street and parked beside a thick tree, trying to be as anonymous as possible.

Did she notice him and his SUV following her for the past ten minutes?

He hoped not.  He just wanted to talk.  Get some answers.  A long overdue explanation he deserved.

×

For a while, he sat still in the driver's seat and watched her from far.

Jessi stepped out of her car, then proceeded to the tall gates with the grocery bag.  She then took off her mask and clothes and immediately put them in a large trash bag.  Then she washed her hands, arms, legs, and her entire face with soap in the sink.

A washing area right beside the iron gates...  Hmm.  Reasonable and efficient.

Black workout shorts.  A pink shirt.  She no longer wore her thick hoodie and pants.  He could see almost all of her now.  Her makeup-free face and chin-length blonde hair, especially.

A 28-year-old mom of two.  She didn't look like she just gave birth to two kids.  Far from it.  Her arms and shapely legs even gained some muscles.

He smiled to himself.  She looked good.  Healthier.  The thought gave him relief, gradually replacing the guilt that had been gnawing at his conscience for more than two years now.

His impatience wanted to corner her now and drag her to his car so they could go somewhere more private and have "the talk".  But she might overreact and panic.  Cry hysterically and just run off.  He didn't want to scare her or anything.

Indecision and reluctance plagued him for another minute or so while he watched her.  Then the front door opened.  The gaps between the iron bars on the gates helped him see enough, but he was too far from the house to see minute details.  Judging from the height of the concrete fence, the large iron gates and barred windows, he could tell the family valued privacy more than a lot of things.

Then a child screamed, followed by some giggles.  His eyes darted back to the front door.  His heart wrenched when two kids wearing mini face masks toddled out of the house, waving at Jessi so enthusiastically.  One of them just shouted "Mama" before taking a few steps closer to her.

A dark-haired little boy and a long-haired little girl.  Both toddlers.  Not even two years old, according to those shocking birth certificates.

An older couple also stood on the front porch, waiting right beside the children, chatting with smiles on their faces.  Jessi's parents, no doubt.

Hiding in his vehicle and parked in the dark, Jenson stared at the whole scene while he gripped his phone.  He slapped his forehead, then tried sending another text to Jessiah's new number.  To his surprise, she didn't block him again.  Not yet.  He glanced around the front porch and the house.

No one else came out the front door except the kids and Jessi's parents.  Where was the new guy?  The kids' dad?  Who the fuck got her pregnant with two kids and just left them with her?

Unpleasant thoughts worsened the bad feeling wringing his gut, but he couldn't do much at the moment.  He couldn't just show up in front of the house.  It would startle her and the kids.

Her parents might call the cops on him the next second.  He just wasn't sure if they knew him.  Maybe Jessi mentioned him a few times in the past.  But to them and the kids, he was essentially a stranger.

The hesitation kept him in his seat while he dialed a friend's number.

Well, she was basically his long-lost aunt who was years younger than him, but he liked to believe they'd formed a semi-friendly relationship in the last two years.  "Jenson? This really you?"

Finally, she picked up.  "Hi, Kel."  He breathed a quick sigh of relief.  He had been trying to get in touch with her for the past couple of days.  Perhaps her work schedule had been extra hectic lately.

Or she was avoiding him, too.  "Where are you?"

"I'm, uh..." He glanced at the family again.

Jessi stood on the porch with her mom leaning against the doorjamb, holding the little boy's hand.  Jessi was carrying the little girl now while wearing a new face mask.  She surely didn't like to take any chances.

"Are you actually in Raleigh right now?" Kel asked when he clammed up.  Her voice on the other line sounded pinched and a tad scratchy.

Poor reception again.  "Yeah."

"What? Why?"

"Why?" Jenson held back a sigh and switched the call to speaker mode, then tossed his phone onto the dashboard.  "You know why," he murmured, frowning to himself.

"Where exactly? Who told you to go to Raleigh?"

"Doesn't matter," he muttered while his grip on the steering wheel tightened.  His heart was also beating faster for some reason.  But it wasn't plain nervousness or anxiety.  "Who's the father?"

"W-What d'you mean?"

"Cut the crap, Kel. I know about her kids. Who's the dad?"

"Wait. Where in Raleigh? Are you..."

"Who got her pregnant?"

"Jenson, I..."

"I just need to know. Please." He closed his eyes and pinched his nasal bridge, his thoughts racing a hundred miles per hour now.  "Just tell me. I won't do anything stupid. I just... I just wanna know."  He sighed, mentally praying she would just tell him the truth.  "Who's the guy?"

×